Fourty-three defendants charged in connection with the La Familia Michoacana drug cartel made an appearance in Clayton County Superior Court Monday for an arraignment hearing.
At the hearing, the defendants had the opportunity to enter a guilty or not guilty plea. The proceedings marked the first step in their court cases. Chief investigator Paul Garland of the Clayton County District Attorney's Office said that the next step will be for the defendants to be put on a trial calendar, possibly as early as December.
The 43 defendants arrested in Clayton County were among a total of 45 people arrested in connection with "Operation Choke Hold," a multi-agency investigation which began in May 2009.
Authorities announced the indictment of the 45 defendants Thursday at a press conference. The La Familia drug trafficking organization is a major Mexican drug cartel. The organization had operatives in Spalding, Henry, Clayton, Cobb and Gwinnett counties and distributed drugs in Alabama, Texas, North Carolina, Florida, Indiana and Washington, investigators said.
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